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Thursday, May 20, 2010

SNGF - Matrilineal Line / Treasure Chest Thursday !

I know I'm a few days late to participate in Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun from May 8th, 2010, but thought I would post my reply to his latest topic: Matrilineal Lines...upon further evaluation and discovery, I thought this would be an excellent candidate to include in the Treasure Chest Thursday blog prompt today.

Your matrilineal line consists of your mother, your mother's mother, her mother, etc, as far back as you can go. This is important because this is how your mitochondrial DNA was passed to you.

To top things off, I just so happen to have a 5-generation picture of my matrilineal lines!!!

5 Generation Picture, Fort Smith, Arkansas, March 1976, digitized and privately held by Ginger R. Smith, Durham, North Carolina. This photo was retrieved from Louise Benson Lasiter's house upon her death in 1996 by her daughter Sue Smith. Photo was subsequently passed to Sue's daughter, Marilyn Smith upon Sue's death in 2003, then passed to Marilyn's daughter, Ginger R. Smith in 2009.

My parents were young when I was born. My father was 17 and my mother had just turned 19 years of age 5 days before I was born. So I was lucky to still have a couple sets of great-great grand parents living. This picture is testament to that. I believe the picture was taken at my great-grandmother's house, Louise Benson Lasiter, on Park Avenue, Fort Smith, AR.

In the chair I [Ginger R. Smith] am being held by my mother, Marilyn Godwin. Standing behind her from left to right is my grandmother, Sue Carolyn Lasiter Godwin, then my great grandmother Thelma Louise Benson Lasiter, then my great-great grandmother, Eva Mae Dennis Benson.

4 comments:

What a treasure! I had a great-grandmother alive when I was born and even visited her as a baby, but no one took a four-generation photo. Even more frustrating, my husband had a great-great-grandmother alive until he was two and no one took any five-generation photos!

Miriam and Greta, Because my parents were so young when I was born and because my grandfather was the oldest of his siblings (I was the first grandbaby on my father's side and only one on my mother's side), I was fortunate to have 6 of my 8 great-grand parents around for most of my young adult life; and 2 great-great grandmothers alive until I was about 2 years of age!

But yes, it's very fortunate that they took the time to photograph all of us :-)

Ginger, my name is Karen Dawisha. My grandmother was Eva Benson. Louise Lassiter was my aunt. If you will email me at dawishkl@muohio.edu, (that is DAWISHKL@MUOHIO.EDU) I have some data I can provide. Karen Dawisha

About Me

Contact Me: Ginger R. SmithI am an avid genealogist and librarian living in Durham, NC. I do extensive research at the North Carolina State Archives for my Brooks and Godwin families. If you would like assistance locating records at the Archives, please feel free to email me. This blog highlights my research and DNA testing updates. Please check out my Surname Page to see if we have any relatives in common!